Author Joshua Stewart

Play beach volleyball while wearing dog tags, duh! As Naval Air Forces tries to figure out exactly what happens when it stands down four air wings and cuts two more to minimum safe flying levels, Maverick and Goose know how they’ll keep busy, as this meme that’s been floating around shows. That’s one of the perks when CWVs 2, 9, 17 and 7 get dismantled, and CVWs 1 and 11 are cut to the bone because of the sequester. One bone to pick: Maverick would never say that they would be “playin’ beach volleyball with the guys,” because clearly during…

Unless you like to get pummeled in the ready room, this is exactly what you shouldn’t do before you try to become a fighter pilot. Ensign Shannon Ray Anderson wrote a self-help book that promises to show anyone who is interested the path to become a fighter pilot. But there’s a catch: Anderson is not a fighter pilot. Nope. He’s a student at Training Wing 2, flying T-45 Goshawks. He doesn’t have wings of gold, hasn’t made it through a Fleet Replacement Squadron, or hit any of the milestones that make a fighter pilot a fighter pilot. Besides his initial…

Your next billet may be in bucolic downtown Deveselu, Romania. Enjoy the dirt roads, the fallow fields, the horse-drawn cart, the horse and the rickety fence. Beyond that, it looks like you’re going have to make your own fun. Congress recently authorized the Navy to build an Aegis missile defense complex there, and it looks like the facility may be the most happenin’ place in south-central Romania. After a tough week of protecting southern Europe from incoming missiles, you can stop by nearby Caracal for some R&R. Let us know what’s out there, because Google isn’t turning up anything beyond…

UPDATE: David Goggins stopped his attempt after competing 3,202 pullups. According to tweets from the gym’s owner, the pullups tore up his palms and Goggins couldn’t continue. It’s unclear exactly how many Dawn Griner competed, but it appears she logged around 600. ***** On Sunday, when you’re in the last legs of your Thanksgiving-induced stupor, Chief Special Operator (SEAL) David Goggins will try once again to set a new record for the number of pullups in an hour. At the CrossFit Brentwood Hills in Brentwood, Tenn., Goggins will try to crank out at least 4,021 pullups, one more than the…

If shipyards were as prolific as former Aviation Ordnanceman Second Class Jason Gomez, there’s no question that the Navy could have a 600-ship fleet. But Gomez isn’t building with steel, but rather blocks in Minecraft, a construction game that’s like Legos, but on a computer. He has a few vessels under construction, but his latest, and most elaborate project is his old ship, the carrier Enterprise. He served on there 19 years ago. Watch the video (and be mindful of the occasionally salty language). He’s been documenting his progress on all his ships on YouTube, where he goes by Jagthunder1.…

Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mark Ferguson was recently asked what question he would pose to the presidential candidates if given the chance. He must have skipped breakfast before his Monday speaking engagement, because he paused for a moment and said he would ask Romney and Obama what they wanted on their pizza: pepperoni, or sausage. Ferguson made the comment while speaking at the Office of Naval Research Naval S-T Partnership and ASNE Expo. Ferguson was referencing an offer from Pizza Hut. The company ran a promotion where anyone who posed the candidates that question during a debate would…

Are you sick and tired of those smug people with those obnoxious bumper stickers touting the fact that they’ve run 26.2 miles? Now you, a proud member of the elite 3-Mile Club, can fight back with sarcasm with your 1.5 mile bumper sticker. Available on Cafepress, the sticker looks like all those other white ellipses that have appeared on the rear end of cars over the last few years, but this one tells the world and those holier-than-thou marathoners that you’re lazy and out of shape you can still score at least a satisfactory in the PRT. Yes, your only…

Lt. Cmdr. Leland “Chip” Shanle made a career as a Navy test pilot, but in his civilian life he had the awesome opportunity to safely crash a 727 for science. Now, he’s on social news site Reddit doing an AMA (ask me anything) and answering anything you want to know about the life and times of an aviator who has had some pretty unique experiences. He talks about crashing a 727, combat missions, fighter jets and more. Here’s a quick recap of his resume, in his own words: I flew 16 different naval aircraft in 10 squadrons; including the F-4…

Chief Special Operator (SEAL) David Goggins will try again to set a new world record for the most pullups in a 24-hour period, continuing his effort to bring attention to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. On Sept. 26-27 he tried to break a 4,020 pullup record set by Great Britain’s Stephen Hyland in July 2011, but Goggins hurt his wrist and pulled out after 2,588 pullups. By the time his attempt was over he raised $12,030 for the foundation, a charity that gives college scholarships to the children of special operators who die in operations or training. Despite that, his…

All of that headline is true. Lt. Pete Reed, an engineering officer and member of a gold medal rowing team at the London Games, did complete a perfect fitness test in Portsmouth. But now for those pesky details: Reed is a Brit, and an officer in the British Royal Navy. But he did do the test in Portsmouth, but it was Portsmouth, England, not Portsmouth, Va., home of the giant naval hospital. But he still aced the test. In fact, he scored an impressive 9:21 in the 1.5-mile run (that’s a perfect score by British standards, an “Outstanding” in American…